Scientology fundraising is getting both desperate and weirder than usual

 
For years now, we’ve posted the especially lengthy fliers that Scientology puts out crowing about the latest fundraiser. And recently, we’ve noticed something new: Scientologists in one part of the country being asked to fork over huge amounts of money in order to fund a new “Ideal Org” in a completely different place.

We showed you, for example, people in Atlanta being asked to pay for a new building in Philadelphia. And over at Mike Rinder’s blog, the former Scientology spokesman recently had a very illuminating post about how Scientologists in Columbus, Ohio were being hit up for the nearly finished project in Chicago, and with a lot of great annotation from Mike himself.

So, continuing on that theme, today we have another of these odd pairings, with Scientologists being asked to raise money for a new Ideal Org in New York’s Long Island and… Hawaii?

And to make it seem like there’s some sense to it, the fact that these are both islands is the theme?

This is such a weird brand of desperation, we’re not sure what to think, but the dollar amounts are very real.

[Key to Scientology codes: Vanguard: $35,000. Benefactor: $50,000. Humanitarian: $100,000. Silver Humanitarian: $250,000. Gold Humanitarian: $500,000. New Civilization Builder: $1 million.]

 
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Technology Cocktail

“The highest level of treatment technology known to exist in the universe before Scientology was Pictureology wherein, at a signal from the therapist, the thetan crunched up the engram. This is currently in use (and has been for many trillions of years) in the Galactic Confederation. There are few further complications to it except putting the thetan under control with sleep lights. Pictureology is very close to implanting. The practitioner gets a picture of the scene of the accident, holds it before the thetan and snaps a pair of bars, not unlike cine clap sticks, before the thetan. The thetan eventually gets the idea and angrily or otherwise duplicates the action of the stick by crunching his own engram.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1963

 
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To the anonymous emailer

To the anonymous reader who emailed us to complain and ragequit in a way so we couldn’t reply: If you are savvy enough to set up an anonymous emailer, you have more than enough technical know-how to figure out how to read every single thing we’ve posted at tonyortega.substack.com without subscribing. (We set it up that way.) Come on now, make us proud and figure it out.

Source Code

“God help you someday when you get somebody who has an engram fifteen-trillion-trillion years long. Try to find the beginning of that! Before you’ve gone halfway through, of course, your date is so wrong that it’s jamming the track anyway. And just time after time, you find the earlier part of it and you find the earlier part of it and you find an earlier part of it — and finally, you finally get it all worked out and you find out that this thing which first registered as one and one-half hours long was actually 15 trillion-trillion years in length. Somebody stuck in a mountain that long; couldn’t get out. That’s rough. That’s hard to do. It’s hard to do when everything else is correct. So you’ve got to have everything else correct and then it can be done. But it is not easy to do when all signs and portents are favorable. Got that?” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 10, 1963

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“STOP PRESS: We just won the New Zealand inquiry! Sydney halting further action because of this. Org in Auckland normal Op in stats with our Dian course going full blast.” — The Commodore, July 10, 1969

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“I should have known you aren’t even LRH-trained because you won’t display your education. You have set the tone in the field for this to be acceptable. No training, take money, no certs provided, take money, no ethics, take money and then laugh at people and make them wrong so you don’t have to deal with what you did. You can trace back those who are connected to you very easily, it’s a noticeable nastiness that you perpetuate. Always being right and others wrong. I have gotten much feedback about this observation. Give me my money and leave me alone. I have better things to do than play in your cesspool of degradation.”

 
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Past is Prologue

2000: Associated Newspapers published an article on Anthony Christian, an artist living in India, and famous for painting portraits. “Back in the Seventies he was a celebrated portrait painter and something of a Brit Art star, with glowing writeups in Vogue. Then he dropped off the map, going first to Bali and then India, where he became a virtual recluse with his art materials and a succession of wives for company. Mad Valley is known for its lush profusion of strange flora and fauna, such as the kurinji, a flower which blossoms only every 12 years, rare bats, scorpions and the odd panther. He told me one incident among many that had put him off portraits was when the Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard asked him to ‘paint me in a way that people can worship me’. He’s now decided to end his self-imposed exile, and said I was the first journalist who had ever been to his south Indian retreat.”

 
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Random Howdy

“Hubbard said that all science fiction was based on whole track incidents that the authors were subconsciously remembering.”

 
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Trial scheduled for October 11.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Last hearing was on January 18, referred to grand jury. Additional charges also referred to grand jury after January 5 assault while in jail.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Readiness hearing scheduled for August 22 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for September 19.

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: February 2, 2023.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place, next status hearing October 25.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for December 6.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.

 
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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON

We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.

LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH

An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.

SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

 
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?

 
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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Tabs keep telling us Tom Cruise is ditching Scientology, and always with zero evidence
[TWO years ago] Christmas in July: Videos of Scientology stars raising money for their pals at the LAPD
[THREE years ago] When Scientology has you dividing up funerals because family never really matters
[FOUR years ago] Former Scientologists, academics, and Falun Gong get together for a Philly blowout
[FIVE years ago] Hip-hip-hooray! We have the newest Scientology propaganda about creating an ‘Ideal World’
[SIX years ago] Scientology continues to push for ‘Battlefield Earth’ sales, and you can get this T-shirt!
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology’s day care from hell: The scandal the church managed to keep hidden — until now
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology begins hitting back at Ryan Hamilton and his lawsuits
[NINE years ago] Indie Scientologists Try to Spoil “Super Power” Release as it (Supposedly) Nears Debut
[TEN years ago] Scientology Reacts to TomKat Divorce from Nixon-Era Playbook

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on July 10, 2022 at 07:00

E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2021 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2021), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…

Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.

Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele

 

Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast